The Other Lady Vanishes (Burning Cove #2)(63)

“Honeymooners, eh?” Martha’s severe face abruptly softened. She smiled at Adelaide. “I can understand why you’re in a bad mood, what with having to walk all that way on a night like this. Your nerves are probably a little on edge.”

“You have no idea,” Adelaide said.

“I understand. I reckon you probably didn’t get any supper, right?”

“No,” Adelaide said.

“I’ve got some leftover stew and corn bread. Go on over to number six and get settled. I’ll send Burt over with the food in a bit.”

“Thank you,” Adelaide said. She suddenly felt guilty about her churlish behavior. “Sorry about snapping at you. It’s just that it’s been a very long day.”

“I can imagine. Weddings are always stressful—even when things go like clockwork. Run along now. I’ll get the stew and the corn bread ready. Burt will be over shortly.”

“Number six is at the end of the row,” Burt said helpfully. He handed a flashlight to Jake. “Here, take this. You’ll find a lantern in the cabin. There’s also a fireplace. Plenty of wood and kindling. Watch your step out there in the fog.”

“Thanks,” Jake said.

He kept his arm around Adelaide’s shoulder and steered her toward the door. When they were outside, he released her and switched on the flashlight. Lantern light glowed behind the curtains of the five occupied cabins. Number six was so dark it was nearly invisible in the fog.

Jake aimed the beam of the flashlight briefly at each vehicle parked in front of a cabin. Adelaide realized what he was doing and shivered.

“You’re wondering if the guy who tried to murder us ended up stopping here for the night, aren’t you?” she said.

“It was a possibility,” he said. “Not a lot of auto courts between here and Burning Cove. But none of these cars look like the one the guy with the dynamite was driving. He probably didn’t dare stop so close to the scene of an attempted murder.”

“What on earth would you have done if we had stumbled across him here?”

“I’m sure I would have figured out something,” Jake said.

They found the front steps of number six. Jake opened the door. Adelaide moved past him into the small, shadowy confines of the one-room cabin.

“I can’t believe it,” she said.

“What?” Jake closed the door and threw the bolt. “That we finally found the auto court in that fog?”

“No,” she said. “I can’t believe that for the second time in my life I’m a fake bride. What are the odds?”

“Probably not good,” Jake said.





Chapter 37


“Where do you suppose the person who tossed that stick of dynamite under your car ended up spending the night?” Adelaide asked.

She was feeling better now, she concluded. Not exactly normal—she was no longer sure how normal felt—but she was definitely calmer and more clearheaded.

The chicken stew had been hot and filling. The corn bread had been perfect—a lovely golden brown with a crispy crust on the bottom and the sides, courtesy of the cast-iron skillet in which it had been baked. There was a fire going in the brick fireplace. She and Jake were relaxing in a couple of wooden rocking chairs positioned in front of the hearth. The light from the lantern on the small table cast a warm glow over the one-room cabin.

Best of all she was not alone.

It occurred to her that she should not allow herself to get too comfortable with Jake’s companionship. He would not stick around forever. Nevertheless, she was sure that he would remain at her side until they figured out what in the world was going on. He did not doubt her story, and for now that was the most important thing. They were partners, at least for a while, bound together by a web of murder, drugs, and blackmail.

Jake lounged back in his rocker and propped his feet on a hassock. He contemplated the flames in the fireplace.

“Best guess,” he said, “is that the bastard ended up doing what we were planning to do if the fog got heavier—pulled off the highway and is now sleeping in his car. It will be interesting to see what he does when he finds out that we’re still alive.”

“Maybe he’ll panic and run,” Adelaide said.

“I think we have to assume that he’ll head for Burning Cove. That seems to be the center of this spider’s web.”

Adelaide tightened her grip on the arms of her rocking chair. “Because I’m there?”

“Yes.” Jake met her eyes. “And because I’m there, too.”

“Partners,” she said.

“Yes.”

The single word was diamond hard.

A short time later Jake turned down the lantern and banked the fire. He cracked one window partially open for ventilation and then he looked at the two narrow cots.

“Which one do you want?” he asked.

The cots were identical, as far as she could tell. There was one positioned against the wall on each side of the cabin.

“The one on the left,” she said.

She waited for him to suggest that they hang a couple of blankets between the cots for privacy purposes.

“It’s all yours,” he said.

He unfastened his shirt and draped it over the back of one of the chairs. His snug-fitting undershirt revealed the strong line of his shoulders and back. He must have sensed that she was staring because he gave her an inquiring look.